Chuck de Vore - 2010 United States Senate Bid

2010 United States Senate Bid

DeVore declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by three-term Democratic senator Barbara Boxer. DeVore's campaign posted two parodies of two songs by Don Henley, "After the Hope of November is Gone" (after "The Boys of Summer") and "All She Wants to Do is Tax" (after "All She Wants to Do Is Dance") on YouTube in April 2009. Don Henley and Henley's producer filed suit and YouTube removed them. DeVore filed a counter-claim and restored one of the videos to YouTube for several months before additional legal action took it down. Henley eventually prevailed in his legal challenge.

By November 2009, DeVore had made over 200 campaign events focusing on Boxer and the November 2010 elections, raising almost $1 million from 16,000 donors. At the start of November 2009, his new opponent, Carly Fiorina was suggesting, despite the fact that DeVore was garnering endorsements such as from Sen. Jim DeMint and almost 60 percent of California's elected Republican officials, including Rep. Tom McClintock, that he lacked the name recognition to provide her with a serious challenge in the primaries. Several polls showed DeVore and Fiorina effectively tied for the Republican nomination, including an L.A. Times/USC poll released on November 8, 2009. Carly Fiorina's campaign was also endorsed by 2008 Republican Presidential nominee John McCain.

On January 13, Former Congressman Tom Campbell also announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination.

Sarah Palin endorsed Carly Fiorina's Senate campaign in a Facebook note, earning Palin criticism from many DeVore supporters, while other DeVore supporters, such as Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com, began to question their support of DeVore's candidacy, fearing that DeVore and Fiorina would split the more conservative GOP primary voters, allowing the more liberal Campbell to win the nomination. Erickson later reaffirmed his support of DeVore and publicly called for Fiorina to drop out of the race, stating "A conservative whose first name starts with a 'C' can win the primary and beat Barbara Boxer. But that person is not named Carly. Rather that person is named Chuck."

In the Republican primary on June 8, 2010. DeVore finished third, winning 452,577 votes, and receiving 19.3% of the vote to Carly Fiorina's 56.4% and Tom Campbell's 21.7%. DeVore ended up raising $2.5 million for his primary effort, more than the top four Republicans combined raised in the primary cycle to challenge Sen. Boxer in 2004.